Nika Gilauri (Georgian: ნიკოლოზ [ნიკა] გილაური, born 14 February 1975) is a Georgian politician who was the Prime Minister of Georgia from 6 February 2009 to 30 June 2012. He had served as Minister for Energy (2004–2007) and Minister for Finance (2007–2009) and the First Vice Prime Minister in the Cabinet of Georgia (2008–2009).

Early life

Born in Tbilisi, Nika Gilauri graduated from Tbilisi State University, where he gained Bachelor of Arts in International Economics. He pursued education at the University of Limerick, in Limerick, Ireland where he studied Economics and Finances and gained an MA in International Business Management from Temple University, Philadelphia, USA. In 1999, Nika Gilauri worked for Dublin International Financial Centre as well as in the fund management corporation Invesco, as a fund administrator-manager. Изменила эта деталь Ваше мнение о Nika Gilauri ? He was a financial consultant for energy conservation projects at the Philadelphia Small Business Development Centre (2000), the Georgian telecommunication company Telecom Georgia (2001), and the Georgian energy market management contractor, the Spanish corporation Iberdrola (2002). From 2003 to 2004 he worked for the Georgian state electricity system management contractor, ESBI (Ireland) as a management contractor and financial controller on the Georgian state electricity system.

Political career

Georgian government

Nika Gilauri first joined the government of Georgia after the peaceful 2003 "Rose Revolution" replaced President Eduard Shevardnadze in favor of a young reformist team led by Mikheil Saakashvili. In the Saakashvili administration, Nika Gilauri received the post of Minister for Energetics on February 17, 2004. He played a prominent role in negotiating the provision of gas supply by Azerbaijan and Iran in January 2006, when gas and electric power supply to Georgia was suspended as a result of alleged sabotages in the Russian territory.

On September 7, 2007, Nika Gilauri was moved to the post of Minister of Finances, a post he retained in a cabinet reshuffle following the 2007 political crisis. In December 2008, Gilauri also assumed the newly created office of the First Vice Prime Minister of Georgia, and succeeded Grigol Mgaloblishvili as Prime Minister of Georgia on February 6, 2009. One of the very first political decisions that Gilauri made as Prime Minister was to dismiss Kakha Bendukidze, Head of the State Chancellery and a leading figure behind Georgia’s economic reforms of the 2000s.

In December 2008, Gilauri also assumed the newly created office of the First Vice Prime Minister of Georgia, and succeeded Grigol Mgaloblishvili as Prime Minister of Georgia on 6 February 2009. Having won a confidence vote by the Parliament of Georgia, Gilauri named tackling unemployment as his foremost priority and promised to set up an inter-agency working group to coordinate further democratic reforms and pursue a "consistent policy towards de-occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia", two disputed regions considered by Georgia as Russian-occupied territories. He also said under his premiership Georgia would remain committed to its NATO integration policy. Знакомы ли Вы с деталями о დავით ბაქრაძე ? One of the very first political decisions that Gilauri made as Prime Minister was to dismiss Kakha Bendukidze, Head of the State Chancellery and a leading figure behind Georgia’s economic reforms of the 2000s. On 30 June 2012, President Saakashvili replaced him with Ivane Merabishvili, appointing Gilauri as the head of the JSC Partnership Fund, a state-owned stock fund.

Government offices

Minister of Energy - In office: 17 February 2004 – 7 September 2007

Minister of Finance - In office: 7 September 2007 – 6 February 2009

First Vice Prime Minister of Georgia - In office: December 2008 – 6 February 2009